It's been a lament repeated by federal workers in and around Virginia and Washington, D.C., in stories and newscasts regarding the sequester: It's not fair that they are getting treated differently than the rest of Americans.

When the first responders – firefighters, policemen and other emergency personnel – rushed to the twin towers of the World Trade Center after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the main thing on their mind was to save lives. That's what these brave men and women are trained to do. That's their mission. Tragically, on that fateful day, the price they paid was their lives.